Openings or perforations in the walls of internal organs and vessels may be naturally occurring, or formed intentionally or unintentionally. These openings may be used to gain access to adjacent structures of the body, such techniques being commonly referred to as translumenal procedures. For example, culdoscopy was developed over 70 years ago, and involves transvaginally accessing the peritoneal cavity by forming an opening in the cul de sac. This access to the peritoneal cavity allows medical professionals to visually inspect numerous anatomical structures, as well as perform various procedures such as biopsies or other operations, such as tubal ligation. Many translumenal procedures for gaining access to various body cavities using other bodily lumens have also been developed. Natural orifices such as the mouth, nose, ear, anus or vagina may provide access to such bodily lumens and cavities. The bodily lumen(s) of the gastrointestinal tract are often endoscopically explored and can be utilized to provide access to the peritoneal cavity and other body cavities, all in a minimally invasive manner.
Compared to traditional open surgery or laparoscopic surgery, translumenal procedures are less invasive by eliminating abdominal incisions (or other exterior incisions) and incision related complications, while also reducing postoperative recovery time, reducing pain, and improving cosmetic appearance. At the same time, there remain challenges to translumenal procedures, including providing a suitable conduit to the openings and body cavities, robust medical devices that are maneuverable via the conduit and operable within the body cavity, sterility of the conduit, maintaining insufflation of the body cavity, proper closure of the opening and prevention of infection. These procedures carry the risk of perforating structures that lie just beyond the bodily wall being cut or within the cavity being explored or worked within. For example, when incising the gastric wall, the potential of hitting blood vessels without knowing could lead to bleeding complications. Accidentally puncturing the small intestines could lead to the spillage of bacteria into the peritoneal cavity.